Yellow Medal Road
by Blackgate Transfer
Summary: In which Dick Grayson is an Olympic gymnast, Bruce Wayne is his coach, Barbara Gordon does Judo and denies their relationship, victories are won, thoughts are had, and a different path is imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

 **Author's Note:** This is what happens when you watch gymnastics on Youtube and start to think about a certain acrobat.

* * *

"Representing the United States of America, Richard Grayson..."

The gymnast decides that he likes the sound of his name. He wasn't sure if he should have told the announcer to use his nickname, or his full name. _Don't worry about it,_ Bruce had said. _Just stay focused on your routine. Stick the landing._ _Keep those knees straight, dammit_.

Bruce. Ever the crank.

Dick is in the Horizontal Bar Finals, and he is going first.

 _Don't get high off of the knowledge that you're in first place. You can be knocked out easily. Stay_ focused.

 _On the contrary, Bruce,_ Dick thought _, I'm a little disappointed that I'm in first. Everybody else gets to wear their fancy jackets, and I don't._

Barbara told him that it was a good thing. That it meant he got to show off what a fine specimen he was, what with those arms of his, that the rest of the world could have as high an opinion of his body as he does.

Barbara was joking, of course, but it isn't strange for her. She competes in Judo and likes to kick his butt a lot, intellectually, verbally, and physically.

Dick powders his hands and steps up. He is nervous.

And he is ready.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Richard Grayson, the student of two-time gold medalist Bruce Wayne, who retired two years after a devastating back injury, enters the Horizontal Bar Finals in first place. The twenty-year old is looking to win his second Olympic gold medal..."

It seemed that news reporters could not discuss Bruce Wayne without using the phrase "devastating back injury." Selina mentioned that Dick's friend, the beach volleyball player with a white streak of hair and similarly striking attitude, had taken to referring to Bruce as "DBI."

It didn't bother him when reporters did it. It didn't bother him when beach volleyball players know for acting like punks did it, either. Even when people walked up to him asking what it was like to retire after such a short career, or what it felt like when he injured his back, he turned the other cheek.

He cannot, however, say that he does not feel at least a small twinge of shame when his own son asks why people keep talking about Daddy's broken back.

 _Is that the legacy I've given to my son?_

 _Is that the reputation I've bestowed upon my father's name?_

 _Did I fail to become what my mother hoped I would be?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"So, uh, how's that gymnast friend of yours?"

Barbara Gordon is having lunch with her father. She has just finished a fairly intense Judo training session with her coach, Ms. Wu-San. She is tired and she wants to eat.

She does not wish to be interrogated.

"Oh, he's fine. He's going into the finals." She says, not looking up from her protein shake.

"Yeah, I heard." Her father replies, trying as hard as he can to look innocent.

This conversation sounds rather dull to other people. The thought that this redheaded man with a mustache could be pressing his daughter for information is far from their minds.

Barbara knows better.

"Daddy, if you're so sure we're dating, why do you have to ask?"

"The subject of a rumor can usually provide the best confirmation."

"Ugh, you should've been a detective."

Jim chuckled.

"Sweetie, if I'd done that, I wouldn't have been able to see you do all this. Go to the Olympics, fight some of the best Judokas in the world..."

"Oh, not this again. You're not praising me, you're sending me on a guilt trip, which you hope will get me into thinking that I owe you something, i.e. info about my dating history, and voila, I'll sing like canary."

"Me? Never."

Barbara Gordon rolls her eyes, her father smiles innocently, and her gymnast friend waves from outside of the restaurant.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Boo."

Bruce Wayne's infant son has learned to speak. He has, also, incidentally, learned to spook.

"That's the last time I let Jonathan watch you, isn't it, Damian?"

The boy does not know this grown-up language that his father speaks, so he simply says "boo" again.

Bruce is going to take Damian to the circus and try not to become jealous of the acrobats. He is not going to think about being almost a full year into his retirement. He is going to think about his son, and not the depression that led Bruce into the arms of Talia al Ghul.

Talia. He's most certainly not going to think about her.

Damian says "boo" for the third time, and Bruce remembers he has yet to dress the boy. He is fairly certain that a onesie is not proper attire for the circus.

"No, it is not," Alfred would say. Bruce misses Alfred. He misses his parents, too.

 _Pull it together. You're a father. You can't mope around anymore._

With that, he finally decides that, yes, he _is_ going to put Damian in his tuxedo. He is not going to delay any longer. He is going to the circus, and he _will_ enjoy himself.

He certainly doesn't have any ulterior motives. Certainly.

Dick Grayson is going to be there, sure, but that doesn't mean Bruce is going because of Dick Grayson. He is not going to approach the boy who was orphaned a year ago and ask him if he's ever thought about the professional world of gymnastics.

No. Absolutely not.

This is strictly a pleasure trip. Father/son bonding, and the like. Never mind if Damian doesn't even remember if he was alive at that time, let alone whether or not he went somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Jay, try not to swear at the ref this time, 'kay?"

Jason Todd snorted.

"Ah, screw you, Roy."

The redhead raised an eyebrow and left.

 _Probably gonna go make out with Jade_ , Jason thought.

Today, Jason and Roy have a match against Simon Amal and some other guy. Jason doesn't like either of them, and he's fairly certain they don't like him.

Granted, Jason doesn't really like anyone.

Especially Dick Grayson.

The Golden Boy of Gotham City.

 _What a load of bull-_

"Jay! You comin'?"

"Just a minute, Roy!"

Jason Todd runs his hand through his hair. He looks in the mirror one more time.

A woman who taught Jason once referred to him as a lump of rage.

If she saw him now, she would think "volcano" a much more appropriate term.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Roy, can you at least _pretend_ you're not sucking Jade's face off every time you say you're going to the bathroom?"

Roy Harper halted. His teammate, Jason Todd, was being rude, as usual.

"Jay, don't you have a referee to tick off?" Roy retorted.

Jason scoffed. Roy made no small effort reminding Jason of his volatile temper.

"Ah, screw you, Roy."

Roy made a very rude gesture involving his middle finger. Jason did the same.

Finally, Roy left Jason to his own miserable devices.

 _Good riddance._

Jason was at some high-society bash for the athletes. The host was a man by the name of Ra's Al-Ghul.

Jason had no idea who he was, but his daughter was kinda hot. Not that it mattered what he thought. Rumor had it that she was still pining after Bruce Wayne.

 _Bruce Wayne. Don't know why anybody gives a damn about that dumb f-_

"Jason Todd, excuse me, Jason Todd?"

Jason's thoughts were interrupted by a reporter shoving a microphone halfway up his nose.

"What?"

"Mr. Todd, what do you think about being part of the gold medal winning Olympic trio from Gotham City? Are you friends with Dick Grayson? How do you feel about his relationship with Barbara Gordon?"

"Ugh, get out of my face." Jason attempted to walk away when the reporter grabbed his arm.

"Excuse me, Mr. Todd, do you know Bruce Wayne? Does Mr. Wayne cover any of the expenses for your training?"

"Hey, if I gotta answer one more question about Bruce effing Wayne, you're getting smacked."

The reporter looked shocked, and began backing away.

Jason realized that people were staring at him. It occurred to him that he had raised his voice.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Jason said.

Jason shook his head, and left, pushing through the crowd.

 _Guess tomorrow there'll be a write-up in the Gotham Gazette about this. "Jason Todd lets loose at gala for Olympic athletes, threatens violence."_

 _Well, maybe if you didn't ask me stupid questions..._

With that thought, Jason returned to the Olympic Village, proceeding to destroy his room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Talia, be a dear, and speak with Bruce won't you? He seems...lonesome."

At eight-thirty on a Wednesday night, Talia al Ghul was, along with her father, hosting a dinner for various athletes, a vast majority of whom Ra's had operated on. Talia was familiar with most of them. She had been since childhood.

The only one she was interested in, however, was Bruce Wayne.

"Of course, Father."

Ra's was not blind to his daughter's infatuation with the gymnast. Rather, encouraged it.

Ra's al Ghul was a doctor. One of the most, if not the most, prominent sports doctors in the world. His Lazarus Medical Clinics were the most widely-acclaimed.

Suffice it to say, Ra's al Ghul was a very important man.

His patients admired him, and the feeling was mutual, though he did have his favorites. Namely, Bruce Wayne.

Yes, he likes the Wayne boy. He's strong, intelligent, _driven_. He is, quite frankly, perfect.

Ra's likes perfection. He finds it respectable.

Talia finds it attractive.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

 **Author's Note:** Apparently, I'm flameworthy now. That makes me pretty happy, actually.

* * *

"Bullseye, bullseye... "

Archery is a fairly difficult task. One must have the patience to wait for the perfect shot, and the sharpness of mind and reflexes to be able to release when such a shot is possible.

Timothy Drake has both. If he didn't, he wouldn't be where he is now.

As the first new Olympic athlete from Gotham City after the meltdown of Jason Todd four years earlier, Timothy was feeling the pressure. Gotham did not have a good reputation as it was, and Jason's issues only reinforced that. Whereas before, people were excited that something good had come from the city, now they were only waiting for the next one to crack.

Tim had always had an interest in what many people considered to be the world's most important sporting event. But it wasn't until Dick Grayson competed in his first Olympics that Tim developed his obsession with doing the same himself. There was something about the intensity of it that attracted him. He did, however, choose a different skill: archery. As important as Grayson and Wayne were in Tim's choice of career, he didn't just want to be a copy of the two. He was Tim Drake, his own person, and he would form his own identity in this world or die trying.

And, now, after all his effort, he is here. He can show his skill, and his intelligence, and his determination. He can show that the success of Gotham City does not end with Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon.

He can show that Tim Drake, too, has something to prove. And, by God, he's going to prove it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Selina, would you stop jumping around?"

As Bruce Wayne watched Selina Kyle doing flips and twirls on the mat, he wondered why exactly he was friends with the woman.

"Oh, lighten up, Bruce. You mean to tell me you've never just went wild when little Dickie wasn't around? You've never had any _fun_?"

Bruce exhaled.

"Unlike you, Selina, I did this for a living. I wasn't afforded the luxury of fun."

"Oh, that explains everything."

He narrowed his eyes. She giggled.

Selina was also a gymnast. She demonstrated particular aptitude in floor routines and vaulting. In spite of this, she had only competed in one Olympics, and a handful of national tournaments.

When he asked her why she never went further, she replied, "Because I didn't want to."

Selina Kyle was an unusual kind of athlete. One with incredible skill, but a lack of overwhelming desire to show off this skill.

She didn't have the ambition and obsessive drive to become the best of the best. She was confident in her ability, comfortable in her standing, and competent when competing.

For these reasons, many people in their profession shunned Selina, believing that she had wasted her talent.

 _At least I'm not wasting my life_. She had told him this shortly before he had injured his back. It was the week before a competition in Santa Prisca and she had just decided to give him a long speech about why she made the choices that she had. Selina was not the kind of person who felt the need to explain herself to others, but she'd seen a change in him during that time. There was a disturbing compulsion that drove him to push himself far beyond human limits. She thought she could help him, make him realize that there is no great honor in pushing oneself to destruction.

He didn't listen.

That was the only time in their friendship that Selina had ever asked anything of Bruce.

They didn't speak to other for two years after that. Bruce had stayed away from everyone except Talia. He didn't really come back to the world until he began training Dick.

Selina likes to hope that Bruce has gained a better understanding of life. That he realizes there is more to his identity than his accomplishments. But she doesn't ask, and he doesn't tell, so they spend their time ignoring important issues, and semi-jokingly scolding each other for character flaws in empty gyms.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

 **Author's Note:** First off, I want to say thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts this story has gotten. This is now my first story to reach six reviews!

Secondly, the story. A2zmom was saying that it would be nice to see a plot. There is no better time ask that question than now. Chapter Nine was the last of the introductions. This story isn't going to be a planned multi-chapter fic with a single storyline, with different subplots and whatnot. However, the different oneshots are all connected, so there will be multiple chapters that take place in the same time, dealing with the same events. These short storylines will have their own lasting effects on the series. Jdcocoagirl also asked about Bruce's relationship with Talia. That relationship will be explained...right...about...now.

* * *

"Bruce, are you coming?"

Bruce Wayne looked up from the newspaper he was reading. The voice he heard sounded strangely like Talia al Ghul.

"Bruce, it's Talia. Did you forget about our plans?"

Oh, it _was_ Talia.

Bruce and Talia had been...going together, as Alfred had so politely put it, for a few weeks now. It had been about a year since his final surgery. He'd been acquainted with her previously, but had only now begun to seek her companionship.

"Just, just a minute, Talia."

He jumped up to open the door. He suddenly felt embarrassed as he saw Talia standing there, wearing light makeup that accentuated her lips, her loose and hanging beautifully on her shoulders. Bruce's own face was covered in unruly facial hair. He was fairly certain the hair on his head was just as unkempt.

As he welcomed her inside, he also began to feel shame at the state of the apartment Ra's was paying for. There were blankets and pillows strewn across the couch (Bruce had developed insomnia since his injury). The sink was overflowing with with dirty dishes and cups. The whole room had a musty smell.

Bruce made polite small talk with Talia, (as usual), apologized profusely for the mess (as usual), his hair (like he did last week), and for the sticky door handle, (this one was new, but he was probably going to do it again next week).

"Bruce, please stop apologizing."

Bruce looked up from the dishes he was frantically attempting to wash.

"I'm not here to make you perfect. You _are_ perfect, Beloved."

Bruce stopped what he was doing, and looked at Talia. Her face seemed to be the very epitome of confidence. She believed what she was saying.

She believed in him.

* * *

I'm not terribly certain about that ending, so don't be surprised if I revise it. This is the first chapter in the story arc that will go through Bruce's relationship with the al Ghuls, up to Damian's birth, or somewhere in that time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane.

* * *

"Bruce, which color do you like more, green or yellow?"

Bruce's head swivels in Talia's direction, his eyes locking onto the color swatches she holds in both hands.

"Why not both?" He says.

Talia hums pleasantly, then rests her hand on her stomach.

Three more months and Damian will be born. Bruce and Talia will be parents to a child that Ra's says will be a perfect little boy. _Perfect._

That is a word that most accurately describes Bruce's life with Talia. They're married (secretly, but it's legal), they're living together, and Bruce is thinking about getting back into the gym. Working on those muscles which have been dormant for three years.

* * *

Late at night, when Talia sleeps, Bruce takes a walk in their house. He always finds himself inside his office, sitting in a leather chair, looking at a picture of his parents. He does not question his life, does not wonder what they would think of him. He is confident in the choices he has made. He puts the picture down, then makes his way out of the room.

But on this night, three months before the birth of his son, he catches a glimpse of another picture. This one is of Alfred. Alfred loves Bruce, but he does not always agree with the things Bruce does. He never says anything, because he's too polite, but his disapproval is there.

Bruce hesitates to leave the room for a moment, a single moment. His hand lingers on the door knob, then he turns it, and returns to his and Talia's bedroom.

Bruce is plagued with an uneasiness for the next three months.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

* * *

"What have I done?"

Bruce says this out loud, holding his three month old son. He is filled with a sudden wave of something like regret, feeling as though he had just awoken from a coma. The bottle that Damian had been feeding from dropped from Bruce's hand, and the boy began crying.

The sound broke Bruce's trance, and he leaned down to pick up the bottle. His hand shook as he did so.

He was absent from the world for the rest of the day, and cried himself to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

* * *

"Selina, I...I think you were right."

Lights flicker to life in a Gotham City loft as its resident tries to decipher what she's just heard. Selina pauses mid-yawn as she realizes that it's Bruce's voice that's talking to her, and it's one in the morning, which means that Bruce is calling her at three A.M. his time...which can't be a good thing.

"Bruce, what are you talking about? Why are you still awake?"

"Selina...I...I don't know what I'm dong anymore. I'm here with Talia and Damian but I...I _don't know_."

"Bruce, you need to calm down. You're tired."

"That's just it, Selina, I am. I am tired of pretending that I'm going to go back to gym and start over my career. It's not happening. It's _never going to happen._ Why can't I just be as I am now?"

"Bruce...I'm not the person who can answer any of those questions."

Selina heard Bruce sigh through the phone.

"I know."

He hung up without saying goodbye.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

 **Author's Note:** Well, unnecessarily long hiatuses are apparently what happens when I try too hard to work actual plot into a story. Huh. Maybe I should go back to writing loosely-connected vignettes like I planned...

* * *

"Dick, why did you bring me here?"

Dick pouts as he stares at Barbara from the mat. It's late at night, and he's supposed to be sleeping ("you've got a competition tomorrow, chum, rest up"), but Dick Grayson is not always a stickler for the rules, especially where Barbara Gordon is involved.

"What, a guy can't enjoy some time with his best friend?" He says. He's hanging upside down from the high bar.

"You know my father isn't here, right?"

It's a recurring joke. At some point, everyone around them began living under this vague assumption that the two were in love, spending countless nights in Gotham City gyms and walking along docks.

And at one time, this was the truth. But truth is not a singular thing that stays the same once it is realized. It changes and fits to whatever must be truth for one's own life.

So while the rest of the world stops and stares at Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson and mutters pleasantries about the nice couple, he's entertaining a Tamaranian princess with stories of the circus and Barbara's pretending she's impressed by one Jason Todd's feats of strength.

The world is ignorant and they experience bliss.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

 **Author's Note:** And with this short-like-Jason's-temper chapter, Cassandra Cain is introduced to the Athlete!Batfam universe.

* * *

Bruce is her interpreter. In every interview, he is at her side.

It surprises people. He's stopped on the street, or at the gym, and at lavish parties, and suffers through another well-intentioned-his-ass "why did you dedicate so much time to learning sign language for one gymnast?"

Jason is equally offended, shoulders tensing when he senses it.

Cass just shrugs. She's too busy winning medals.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer's Note:** Batman does not belong to me. I make no profit from this. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

 **Author's Note:** My Jason angst is showing.

* * *

"What...what are you doing up there?

Bruce is surprised to find Jason Todd, neck muscles bulging as he maintains his position on the rings, his arms shake, but he doesn't falter.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that. I won't ruin your concentration.

Jason keeps his eyes on the floor, far below him and almost taunting in its distance. Rings are not for just any old tumbler.

"You've gotten better. I remember you falling. Often.

The only sound in the gym aside from Bruce's voice is the shaking rings.

"Of course...I don't think I ever actually helped you with that."

Jason finally relaxes and dismounts, sticking his landing.

"I thought you weren't going to ruin my concentration."

Bruce's face is inscrutable, but he finally looks Jason in the eyes and says, "Breaking promises I made to you is something I have done for far too long."

Although they don't speak to each other for the rest of their shared time in the gym, there lies an air of something that isn't quite understanding, but somewhere close to it.


End file.
